A couple of webinars from the neo-liberals that came through my inbox yesterday.

A short description of upcoming Alliance for Excellent Education webinars is below, followed by additional information and RSVP details for each. Please note that you will need to register for each webinar in which you intend to participate. I.E. You should complete five registration forms if you intend to participate in all five webinars.

Please join the Alliance for Excellent Education on Tuesday, January 8 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (ET), for a webinar discussion on featuring the perspective of states, districts, and national organizations on the power of digital learning and how to participate in Digital Learning Day. Stuart Ciske will give examples of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s plans for a statewide celebration, and Michael Fragale will highlight some of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s efforts. Peter Richter will also describe what made the schools in Washington Township, New Jersey stand out in their 2012 Digital Learning Day efforts and provide insight to what the district has planned for 2013, including badges, blogging, and surveys. Terri Schwartzbeck of the Alliance will moderate the discussion and panelists will address questions submitted by viewers from across the country.

Inspire, celebrate, and highlight great teaching and learning; make your plans for Digital Learning Day today!

Please join the Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Academy Foundation (NAF) for a webinar on Thursday, January 10, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (ET), to explore case studies that demonstrate the strategic steps businesses take to ensure their engagement with educators leads to effective expanded learning time and opportunities for students and positive experiences for the partnering business(es).

Nearly one-third of the nation’s high school students fail to graduate, and too many of those who do graduate are in need of significant remediation once they get to college. Many businesses are concerned about the impact this will have on the capacity to have skilled employees in the nation’s workforce and getting actively involved.

For example, to positively influence the United States’s workforce pipeline, businesses and employers have taken a proactive role in providing students with expanded learning time and opportunities to help prepare them to graduate from high school ready for college and a career. Many businesses are partnering with schools to provide youth with work-based learning opportunities, such as internships and job shadowing and allowing employees to serve on advisory boards to counsel career academies on the delivery of college- and career-related experiences. The difference between successful and unsuccessful engagement in this work is how strategic businesses and educators are in approaching their partnerships.

During the webinar, Alliance President Bob Wise will moderate a discussion with Jule Baradi from Marriott International Inc.; Doris Bodnar of the Bodnar Group; and Charlie Katz from NAF. Webinar panelists will also address questions submitted by viewers from across the country.

Please join the Alliance for Excellent Education for a webinar on Monday, January 14, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (ET) to explore case studies that demonstrate how large and small businesses are capitalizing on expanding learning time and opportunities through digital learning to transform the educational experiences of youth.

Nearly one-third of the nation’s high school students fail to graduate on time and too many of those who do graduate with a high school diploma are in need of significant remediation if they go to college. Businesses and employers around the country are rightfully concerned that these facts will translate to a less prepared workforce in the future. In order to turn these outcomes around, many businesses and employers are partnering with educators and using technology to provide youth with expanded learning time and opportunities. These opportunities expand where, when, through whom, and how students learn content.

Through technology, students can now learn before, during, and after school; in the classroom, their homes, libraries, and a variety of other locations; through teachers, other students, employers, and postsecondary faculty members; and in a variety of personalized ways that meet their unique learning styles. As in so many other areas of modern life, technology offers the potential to transform young people’s educational experiences and engage new stakeholders in this enterprise. In the process, businesses are engaging as advocates, technical assistance providers, and direct providers of expanded learning time and opportunities facilitated through technology.

Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia will lead a discussion with Steve Andrews of Intel Corporation; Deborah Phelps from the Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools; and Randy Wilhelm of Knovation on the role of business leaders in expanding learning opportunities through digital learning. Panelists will also address questions submitted by viewers from across the country.

More than ever, students need advanced literacy skills to succeed in a knowledge-based global economy. With federal support through the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy program, states have begun implementing comprehensive birth-through-grade-twelve systems for literacy development and education in high-need school districts.

Please join the Alliance for Excellent Education for a webinar on Wednesday, January 16 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. (ET), featuring state directors of comprehensive systems for birth-through-grade-twelve literacy development and education—Julie Morrill from the Georgia Department of Education and Cindy Rhoads from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Curriculum and Instruction Specialist Cindy Anderson from the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 (Pennsylvania) will address local implementation. They will discuss the essential elements that must be put in place to advance improvements in literacy instruction and achievement at the secondary school level. Alliance Senior Fellow Mariana Haynes will moderate the discussion and field questions from webinar viewers from across the country.

Please join the Alliance for Excellent Education on Thursday, January 17, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (ET), for a webinar featuring a wide range of toolkits available for teachers to support participation before, during, and after Digital Learning Day on February 6.

Barbara McCormack, director of education at the Newseum, will discuss the many tools the Newseum has available. Kamila Thigpen will provide information on the resources available for afterschool programs. Alliance Policy and Advocacy Associate Ace Parsi will provide insight on the recently developed civics toolkit and other resources available on the Digital Learning Day website. Panelists will also address questions submitted by viewers from across the country.